Skip to main content

Brett Wilson Criminal and Regulatory Law Blog

All posts


2.09.22

The SRA, sexual misconduct cases and the new financial penalty regime

The Solicitors Regulation Authority (SRA) recently made a statement about the applicability of its new financial sanctions regime to allegations of sexual misconduct. What has been said? That cases involving sexual misconduct, discrimination or harassment, financial penalties will only be considered in ‘exceptional circumstances’. What has changed? The short answer is very little. On 20…

Read more

27.06.22

Strangulation and suffocation offence introduced

Parliament has introduced new offences under the Domestic Abuse Act 2021, to address ongoing concerns of domestic violence in the home, particularly towards women and children.  One such offence is strangulation or suffocation (section 70). What are the changes? The new provision came into force on 7 June 2022 and amends the existing the Serious…

Read more

24.06.22

Can I reclaim money I have lost to fraudsters from my bank?

This article briefly considers the scope of Quincecare duty of care owed by banks, recently increased in scope by the Court of Appeal in Philipp v Barclays Bank UK PLC [2022] EWCA Civ 318. What is Quincecare duty? Banks have an obligation to protect their customers from fraud. Before the recent ruling of the Court…

Read more

The challenge of challenging search warrants

It is an accepted principle in law that the issuing of a search warrant, particularly those involving private property, should only be granted after careful consideration of all the facts and in compliance with statutory guidance.  The courts recognise that the power invested in the police to search a home is a ‘draconian’ one and…

Read more

23.06.22

Ghost in the shell game

Dishonesty, decentralised finance, and theft on the blockchain On 14 October 2021, Andean “Andy” Medjedovic, an 18-year-old graduate student from Canada managed to extract US$16m-worth of cryptoassets from a decentralised finance protocol Indexed, through an exploit (a software tool designed to take advantage of a flaw in a computer system). Mr Medjedovic, however, maintains that…

Read more

18.05.22

Blacklisted: Removing a marker from a fraud database

Fraud databases effectively act as blacklists for financial institutions.  An individual with a fraud marker against their name on a fraud database will normally only discover its existence after they have had to deal with the adverse effects that it can cause, such as being refused credit, or an abrupt (and often unexplained) closure of…

Read more

17.05.22

High Court upholds disbarment of barrister who sought to conceal dishonesty conviction

In Bibi v Bar Standards Board [2022] EWHC 921 the High Court dismissed the appeal of Sky Bibi, a barrister who had been disbarred by the Bar Disciplinary Tribunal.  Ms Bibi had faced allegations of behaving in a way which was likely to diminish the trust and confidence in the profession and acting in a…

Read more

16.05.22

Effective justice? Magistrates’ sentencing powers double to 12 months to help clear Crown Court backlog

This month Magistrates have been granted new powers to impose terms of imprisonment up to 12 months, for ‘either-way offences’, enabling Magistrates’ Courts to hear a broader range of matters. The extended sentencing powers are contained in the controversial Judicial Review and Courts Act 2022, which was given Royal Assent on 28 April 2022. The…

Read more

27.04.22

Sex offender’s attempt to hold law firm to ransom over data breach backfires

In Chief Constable of Kent Police & Anor v Taylor [2022] EWHC 737 (QB), Mr Justice Saini considered a claim for breach of confidence, arising from the Defendant’s refusal to delete videos that a law firm that had accidentally disclosed to him and which contained sensitive information about a vulnerable minor.  The videos were taken…

Read more

16.03.22

An introduction to financial sanctions involving Russia

The war in Ukraine, and latterly the news about Roman Abramovich and Chelsea Football Club, have brought the issue of the UK financial sanctions regime involving Russian nationals into sharp focus. But what is the regime and how does it operate on those who have business links to those who are or may be sanctioned?…

Read more

Legal Disclaimer

Articles are intended as an introduction to the topic and do not constitute legal advice.